After hosting Thanksgiving, I was feeling {relatively} good about my ability to throw a larger dinner party. Bring on the holiday cheer! Of course, every good dinner party needs a theme. Ugly Christmas sweaters, anyone?

We actually ended up on MSN for these sweaters – nothing related to the blog, I guess MSN just throught the sweaters were seriously ugly. Haha.

Anyway, I realized yesterday morning that I was a little in over my head… I’ve just been so busy with Henry, staying on top of work, trying to fit in my workouts. The party was suddenly upon me, and I’d done very little to prep. This necessitated 35 frantic texts to my BFF Nicole begging her for menu advice. The day of the party. Whooooops. We decided the best way to handle my procrastination would be to do half-homemade and half-store bought.

And you know what? It ended up working out just fine. There was enough food, it was yummy, and everyone had fun.

For 11 people:

Appetizer: Olives and hummus + chips

Sweet potato casserole (this recipe but with less sugar and dairy-free)

I always buy some, cook some. Parties are supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable. Driving yourself crazy with prep defeats the purpose. Oh, and I think you guys have the tackiest sweaters of the bunch. Congrats!

Good luck with baby proofing! I’m beginning to realize that 100% baby proofing is impossible, especially once they’re mobile. They will always find a way to hurt themselves. I tried gating off an area of the house, and within 5 minutes, my baby bumped her head on the wall. She was born June 10, and my mother in-law said that babies born on a date ending with zero are injury-prone. I’m not superstitious, but I’m kind of believing it now…

That looks like such a fun night. I wish we had the space to host a dinner party!
Good for you for taking it easy on yourself with the half store bought. It’s perfect…this way you still get to enjoy the prep, the party, your adorable Henry and host an awesome party!

Those are some fabulous sweaters you’ve got there! 😉 That’s so funny about forgetting the squash – I’d have the same initial thought, but it would quickly turn to – “Well, more for me I suppose!” It sounds like you guys had a great time. I think a combo feast of homemade + Whole Foods is a great idea!

I’m not a Registered Dietitian (RD). For specific medical counseling, please contact a Registered Dietitian or your doctor. My blog posts are based on my own personal knowledge, experience, and opinions. This website's privacy policy is available here.